Monday, May 23, 2016

General thoughts on Singapore

If you think New York City is busy, just wait until you see Singapore. People are always in a hurry and they walk really fast (they are actually ranked the fastest walkers on earth). It seemed like everything was happening in fast motion, which always kept me on my toes! You might be surprised to hear that Singapore is a tiny tropical island, made up of 6 million people (75% Chinese). It’s located just 80 miles north of the equator — so the temperature is always hot and humid. It’s tropical location provides 17 nature reserves and more than 1.4 million trees!

Why is everything so clean in Singapore? Well, Singapore has some of the strictest laws in the world. There are street signs all around the city reminding everyone not to litter, smoke, chew gum, run, spit, etc. If you don’t follow the rules, then you must pay a steep fine. But nearly everyone obeys the rules, which is why Singapore is also of the safest cities in the world. Everything from the metros, malls, restaurants and residential buildings are so clean that you can eat off the floor!

Despite being a densely populated city, the metro system is VERY easy to figure out and there are taxis all around that are pretty cheap to use. After being in Singapore for just a few hours, I was already confident enough to navigate myself around town. All the signs are in English (and most people can speak/understand English), so it’s almost impossible to get lost.

In fact, the city just took #1 as the Most expensive city in the world by the Los Angeles Times. Aside from street food, which is reasonably priced, you wouldn’t believe how a beer or alcoholic beverage costs… And if you want to rent a flat, then good luck finding a cheap price!